Derrick Henry Receives the Fantasy Workhorse Load He Was Promised… and Thrives

After years of jerking us around, Derrick Henry aka Von Miller-as-a-running back is finally getting the usage that he (and all of us) deserve. After years of backing up Demarco Murray, platooning with Dion Lewis, and otherwise being screwed the fuck over, Henry seems to be the workhorse he was always meant to be. It’s about time.

Henry was in on 36 snaps for the Titans (59%) compared to 26 snaps for Dion Lewis (43%) which at face value doesn’t seem like a huge discrepancy. But looking just a little closer reveals why you can trust Henry as your guy. Henry, on his 36 snaps, rushed 19 times and was targeted twice. That means that well over half the time he was in the game, the Titans either gave the ball to — or intended to give the ball to — Henry. In Lewis’ 26 snaps, he rushed 3 times and caught 3 balls, producing almost nothing in the process. In short, when Henry was in the game they were running offense around him almost 60% of the time. When Lewis was in the game, he was used less than 25% of the time. Case closed.

Oh… and by the way, Henry rushed for 84 yards on his carries and he took his 1 reception to the house from 75 yards out. He was the RB3 in Week 1, trailing only Austin Ekeler and Christian McCaffrey. Build your fantasy team around him with confidence. It may have taken us 4 years to get the Derrick Henry we deserve, but he may be here to stay now.

Bottom Line: Pass-catching specialist, who? Christian McCaffrey returned to his college workhorse roots under new OC Norv Turner, and quickly put up Fantasy MVP-worthy numbers. He continued to flash his otherworldly receiving abilities, hauling in an NFL record 106 catches for 875 yards and 6 TDs. Yet where the usage really rose was the carries, as McCaffrey nearly doubled his 2017 total for 215 carries, 1080 yards, and 7 scores. These 321 total touches ranked third behind only Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley, and this newfound volume created the ultimate ceiling / floor combination. In the process, McCaffrey flashed both the elusiveness, breakaway ability, and most shockingly underrated power to redefine the workhorse model.

​New OC Norv Turner deserves immense credit for this outburst. His previous work with LaDanian Tomlinson proved he wasn't afraid to ride a smaller-back, as he's able to scheme his guys in space and in creative outside gaps versus just blasting them up the gut... but even still, never before had an NFL back played nearly 97% of the team's snaps. Yes, this number inevitably will fall in 2019, but McCaffrey should still hover around 85-90%, especially with Turner returning. Expect a similar buffet of weekly volume with the upside for even more efficiency should the Panthers beef up their line while their explosive young wideouts take a next step forward.

Ceiling Projection: 320 touches (100 rec.), 2,000 Tot. Yds, 13 TDs

Floor Projection*: 270 touches (70 rec.), 1600 Tot. Yds, 7 TDs

Actual Projection: 310 touches (90 rec), 1900 Tot. Yds, 12 TDs

*Note - Floors are done without injuries in mind. Of course the lowest floor is torn ACL first play of scrimmage. This assumes 16 games